“This is bad,” Mark says. “Really bad.”
“Adam?” I shout to be heard over the charging weapon. “How powerful is that thing?”
As a group, we all shuffle backwards. I’m barely able to keep track of everyone and maintain our invisibility.
“We need to move,” Adam replies, the awe gone from his voice, replaced by terror. “We need to get back!”
Everyone’s already backing up, leaving only Phiri Dun-Ra hidden behind the overturned log. Marina tugs against my grip. She’s not moving.
“Marina!” I yell. “Come on!”
“We said we wouldn’t run!” she shouts back.
“But—!”
The hum reaches a crescendo and the energy built up in the warship’s cannon discharges with a deafening shriek. A solid arc of electricity the size of ten thousand lightning bolts shears directly into the Sanctuary and slices right through it, the ancient limestone glowing red-hot. The cannon’s blast cuts through the temple, top to bottom, like it was nothing. I have only a moment to consider the Sanctuary, still standing but cut down the middle. I can see light through the cracks in the once-solid wall.
A second later, the condensed energy from the cannon expands outwards in a bright surge of light.
The Sanctuary explodes.
“NO!” Marina screams.
We screwed up. Setrákus Ra didn’t come here to claim the Sanctuary. He came here to destroy it.
I don’t have time to think about what that means or what happens next. Adam yanks me backwards and we go staggering into the jungle, just as chunks of the temple begin to rain down around us. I lose my grip on Marina and she pops back into visibility. Mark’s hand falls off my shoulder and he reappears as well. Only Sarah and Adam keep holding on to me.
Marina actually goes running forward, like she’s going to be able to fight against that warship.
“Stop!” I yell. “Marina! Stop!”
Mark reacts quickly, his football reflexes coming naturally. He lunges towards her, wraps his arms around Marina’s waist and tackles her.
“Get off me!” Marina screams at Mark. She shoves him away, icy handprints forming on his chest.
Then, something else explodes. One of the Skimmers we wired with C-4. It must’ve taken a direct hit from a piece of the Sanctuary and triggered the bomb. Shrapnel whizzes by all around us, sizzling-hot pieces of bent metal tearing through the leaves of the trees.
Mark sucks in a breath and topples over. There’s a jagged piece of thick cockpit glass jutting out of his chest.
“Mark!” Sarah screams, wrestling free from me and running towards him.
Marina sees Mark’s injury and gasps. She turns her back on the Sanctuary and falls to her knees beside him, yanking out the glass and immediately starting to heal him.
Branches break above my head and I look up in time to see a basketball-sized chunk of limestone hurtling towards me. On reflex, I use my telekinesis and catch it in midair, tossing it aside.
I don’t catch the next one.
It hits me on top of the head. Before I even realize what’s happened, there’s something sticky and warm coating the side of my face. Adam grabs me under the arms as I fall to my knees. We’re both visible now. Must have lost my concentration. I try to get my legs under me, to refocus on my invisibility, but I can’t do either. My head swims and I have to blink blood out of my eyes.
“Help!” Adam yells to Marina. “Six is hurt!”
I try to hold on to consciousness, but it’s hard. The world is going black, even as everything we’ve fought for goes up in flames. Ella warned us there would be death. Feeling almost detached from my body, I wonder if this is it.
As I slip away, I hear Ella’s voice in my head.
I’m sorry, she says.
Chapter SIXTEEN
I DON’T HAVE TIME FOR THIS SHIT.
Five wants to meet me at sunset at the Statue of Liberty. It sounds like the plan of some supervillain. He’s holding Nine hostage and plans to kill him if I don’t show up. I don’t know what he wants from me. At the United Nations, it seemed like he was trying to help us in his own psychotic way. At the very least, he stopped me from unintentionally hurting Ella. Of course, he can’t possibly know that I’m on the clock here, that every minute wasted on his screwed-up games is a minute not spent helping Sarah, Six and the others. If he did know, would he even care?
I sent Sarah and Mark to Mexico with the newly discovered Loric hacker-turned-pilot who I’m dying to meet. I sent them there because they’re literally the only support I could drum up for Six and the rest of the Garde who are in for a major fight.
At least they can escape now. They aren’t stranded. Six and Sarah are smart enough to cut their losses and get out of there. This is what I keep telling myself.
I do a quick mental calculation. Even if Agent Walker could somehow convince the military to loan me one of their fastest fighter jets, I still won’t be able to make it to Mexico ahead of Setrákus Ra. Not at this point.
That doesn’t mean I’m not going to try.
“Can you at least get me a boat?” I ask Walker. Having left the chaos of the docks behind, we’re back in the FBI agent’s tent.
“To take you to the Statue of Liberty?” Walker nods. “Yeah, I can arrange that.”
“Right now, though,” I reply. “I want it right now.”
“Five said sunset. That’s still almost an hour away,” Sam adds grimly. I know he’s been doing the same mental calculations that I have. He knows we won’t make it to the Sanctuary. Not unless we leave Nine to whatever fate Five has in store for him, and neither one of us is willing to go down that road.